I remember that night until I died.
On the summer night of 2004, Mom and Dad weren’t home, and I had a computer at home, and I had a bottle of soda and a game.
It was also popular at the time, and junior high school students would be proud of a few suns.
Strange things happen at zero. I remember very well that at zero, there was the movement of the suitcases on the ground, but it disappeared and there was the sound of a lock next door.
I didn’t have time to think about it, and then I looked back and found out that the computer card was there.
The next second, the dead machine’s computer, the sound of video calls, echoes this quiet night.
The mouse couldn’t move at all, and that video call, in my eyes, was automatically connected.
On that side of the video, there’s a man.
It’s a big brother, in his twenties, with a moustache and a cigarette butt all over the table.
The two of us have been silent to each other for so long.
Until he spoke.
He’s got an incredible face.
That’s my name.
I don’t know why, I have a strong feeling that this is a video call that should never have happened.
I was restless to move the mouse, but I couldn’t even move it, and I was going to pull the power, and that big brother got me.
Wait! You have a puppy-shaped birthmark on your ankle, and! When you look at Digital Baby, you close the living room door, you look in secret, and you’re afraid the girls next door laugh at you because you like her very much. I’m sorry.
Fuck!
“Who the fuck are you? Apparently he was right, and I was really angry.
“As I know you, you’d be more angry if I told you, and we couldn’t talk. I can only tell you that we know each other. I’m not a bad person. I’m sorry.
I wrinkled.
At that point, I noticed that there was some outside music on his side, and it was pretty good.
“Go home and go back to the good things that were in the beginning.
I hesitated. I’m sorry.
“What? I’m sorry.
“You’re playing a song that sounds like Jerry. I’m sorry.
And he was like, “Well, it’s rice. I’m sorry.
“I’ve never heard a new song.”
“old song, 2008 song. I’m sorry.
What? I’m increasingly confused, “It’s 04.” I’m sorry.
“What date is today?” I’m sorry.
“August 6th. I said:
“2004, August 6th…”
And he murmured, and I saw him pick up a rectangular shape, a face, a whole luminous screen.
“What’s that? I asked him, “You have it.” I’m sorry.
“Telephone. I’m sorry.
“How is that possible? How do you call without a keyboard? I’m sorry.
He didn’t pay attention to me, he operated the so-called “phone” like he was looking at something. All of a sudden, he raised his head.
I was scared.
His face is ever heavy.
I don’t know how long this phone will last. Time is limited, I’ll focus on you. I’m sorry.
“You now live in this house, and three months later your parents sold it at a low price, and you moved with it. As a result of a murder in the building, it became a murderous house with a sense of fear. I’m sorry.
“The time of murder is tonight. I’m sorry.
He said those horrible words and faces, but they didn’t look like lies.
“I can tell you about your future, after that murder, you’ve changed completely. You’re tired of studying, you’re always fighting, you’re in the middle, you gamble, you borrow, you’re in debt. You’re like a shit, a shit. I’m sorry.
“Why do you change? He laughed, “Because tonight you’re busy playing games and ignoring the difference next door. The girl you liked next door, you always thought you could save her. I’m sorry.
“So you assumed everyone was a murderer and you avenged everyone and you avenged yourself.”
I totally stood there.
I remember the sound from next door.
“The murder, tonight. He said, “It’s right next to you. I’m sorry.
“Right now. I’m sorry.
Is he lying to me or something?
In a moment, there were countless thoughts in my head.
But he spoke so fast, he didn’t wait for me to think.
“There are only two things I can give you, first, not a knife, you’re not strong enough to look for a family with or without a fruit knife, and second, if you want to save her, the sooner, the later. I’m sorry.
“She’s running out of time. He looked me in the eye.
I swallowed spit.
Two.
The door next door, a little stitch.
I had a fruit knife, and I quietly pulled the door open.
A dark living room with only the end room and light. At the door of the room, a huge suitcase was parked.
I seem to have kicked something, heads down, a pair of pink sneakers.
I got scared and walked into the room.
On the bed, lying an adult.
I’m close, I can barely hold the knife.
It’s a body of an adult with huge eyes.
On the neck there were visible signs of strangulation. The sheet was a mess, apparently he struggled to survive.
I’ve killed people in games, and I’ve seen a lot of bloody scenes in movies.
But standing here, watching this man strangled alive, I am overwhelmed by fear and my whole body is out of control.
My ankle, it was touched by something!
I almost screamed, panicked, looked down, saw a girl’s hand, reached out from the bottom of the bed and held my ankle.
I recognized the watch on that hand. It was small.
She recognized the puppy birthmark on my ankle.
In the bathroom, the sound of flushing.
Her hand pulled under the bed and pulled my ankle.
3
Less than that.
My little hair, the girl next door to me.
I hid under the bed with her, the line of sight was covered with sheets, and I couldn’t see the full picture.
Slowly, I saw a pair of leather shoes in the room.
I don’t shiver.
The hand was pulled, and I turned back, and her face was filled with fear.
The shoes were moving in the room slowly, with a large suitcase.
I heard the zipper being pulled open, and then I saw, and there were weak feet on the earth.
The body was held up and put in the suitcase.
I didn’t see his back until the owner of the shoes was crouching down to close the zipper.
A strong adult man.
I look at the muscles of the rocks, the knives in my hand, and I can barely hold them.
If he finds out, we’re all done.
My fingernails are already deeply embedded in my hands, forcing myself not to make any noise.
“Don’t blame me, I don’t have a choice. At last, the man sighs as if he was talking to the body in the suitcase.
He stood up, dragged the case, walked out of the room.
For a long time, I heard the door being carried.
I’m already sweating, nearing the fall.
4
I’m still holding my arm and dying to let go.
I’ve been waiting a long time, and the living room is completely deaf.
I crawled out with my hands and my little ones wanted to follow.
I lightly lit three fingers on her arm.
She figured it out and stayed under the bed.
I had the courage to come to the door and whisper my head and watch the living room.
In the living room, empty. Only that suitcase, still in the living room.
Did he leave?
The bedroom light lit a little bit of the living room.
The little pink sneakers, which I kicked earlier, were lying there in peace at a moment when the light was weak.
For a moment, all the sweats were raised.
Those shoes, the killer can see them!
He knew there were kids at home!
By the door, he reached out with a big hand and grabbed my head.
The next second, my head was caught and I hit the door frame.
I lost my strength and I fell down.
It was hard to open his eyes to see him.
So he hid from the door, and a wall was set against it.
He’s trying to lure the kid out!
Knife … I reached out to get the knife, but he kicked it away.
He crouched down and choked my throat with one hand, so he grabbed my head.
My throat seems to have been crushed, my eyes turned straight up, my mouth was all bleeding.
“Boy?” but he was a little stunned.
He went over it.
The girl’s screaming.
He saw the underside of the bed.
5
He let go of me, and my head fell on the ground, and I was almost unconscious.
What I can see in a blur is that I crawled out of the bed with a little shock. She cried out for help and had just issued the first syllable, and was crushed to the ground by men who strangled her throat.
Her body struggled hard, but no more sound.
I… I can only think of one way to save us.
I can’t stand, I can’t get up, I can’t get up, I can’t get up, I can’t get up, I can’t get up, I can’t get up, I can’t get up, I can’t get up.
Time has never been slower, faster.
I can’t hear a little resistance anymore.
At last, I climbed to the window in the living room, and I swayed up, holding my body hard, lying down at the window.
Help…
“Help us…”
Damn.
Damn…
I yelled hard, but I was strangling my throat, and it was always so small, so dumb.
Less than that.
I don’t know when I liked her.
When I was a kid, when I was bullied by boys, she would help me call back.
When the teacher suddenly appears out of the window, she will drop my arm three times gently;
When I was beaten by my parents, she laughed at me at the door and put ice on my bruises…
Speaking of which, she always seemed to take care of me.
Now, my turn.
Six.
I remember.
Down in the living room, on the third floor, is a shed.
On a thunderstorm, the tremors shiver.
7
That’s my body. It’s the end of the force.
Each of my joints was shaking, and I stood up, my hands were holding my body, and I turned over the window.
I used my last strength to cough. There’s a huge tear in the throat, like a blade in it.
A large body of blood could no longer be contained, sprayed on the side window and sprayed with radiation.
And the man’s hands were full of youth, and his littleness was but a faint tremor.
He heard something. Turn around.
The neighbors will hear you. I laughed.
It’s your turn to run, son of a bitch.
Men know what I’m going to do.
He finally let go, and he came at me.
It’s too late.
I lost my focus and fell.
Walls, windows, the shadows of men by windows, everything is going so fast.
Son of a bitch…
A few seconds later, the boom.
It’s like falling into the water, and my body broke through that shed. All the pieces of metal and plastic, splattered like water.
A loud bang!
Last I saw, all the lights were on. A lot of people’s heads came out, someone looked up and saw the strange man by the window.
The blood is dripping down the window. See? Because I heard someone yelling, “I’ll call an ambulance. Call the police! I’m sorry.
The man’s figure disappeared by the window.
8
I don’t know.
If, at that time, I died there.
It should be a hero.
I don’t know.
9
Four years later, in the autumn of 2008, the sun was warm.
A basketball rolls to my feet.
The little ones got down. A few kids were at a distance and she threw the basketball back.
I was sitting in a wheelchair, looking at those jumpin’ kids, looking through my eyes.
Yes.
That night I survived because of the buffer of the shed.
The doctor told us, however, that broken vertebrae, dead nerves, are irreversible.
I survived, but also became a permanent cripple.
“Little, our classmates, many of them went to college. “We’re tanning downstairs, I say.
She softly “um.”
“You’re gonna hate me? For a long time, I asked her.
I couldn’t even look her in the eye when I said that.
10
A lot has happened in the last four years.
That night, after I fell, I completely lost consciousness.
Until I woke up in the hospital, the first moment I was sitting next to the bed.
The ligature marks on her neck are clear, and I know that they will follow her forever.
She looked at me like she wanted to hug me, and she didn’t know if she should hug me.
In the end, she got down and took a light spot on my arm.
It’s strange that we didn’t define the code.
But I clearly felt that she wanted to convey to me.
“Thank you. I’m sorry.
Eleven.
After we got out of the hospital, we helped Xiao Xiao to have her father’s funeral.
On the day of the funeral, Xiao Moo shed tears and burned the “notice” to his father.
That’s what it says:
“…the murderer Ma Yi, who fled to hide for days, saw nowhere to escape and turned himself in to the police station…”
“…go to justice, confess guilt…”
Little look to that coffin.
She was silent and her back began to tremble.
I know, she probably remembered the horror of that night again.
And that night, some detail still creeps us out.
Before I went to her house, she woke up from sleep late in the night.
She saw the man, walked out of Dad’s bedroom and went straight to the bathroom.
The man’s hands are covered with blood when he chokes his throat.
She’s scared.
She whispered to her father’s bedroom, trying to wake him up, but when she arrived at the bed she found out that he was already a dead body.
Fear, the fear of the soul. She couldn’t help but try to scream.
The next second, however, the sound of the door being pulled open was heard in the living room and the footsteps of the door were squeezed.
Instead, the move alerted her to the fact that she had to bite her mouth to death, even with blood, and pressured her to scream back.
She went under the bed and shivered helplessly.
Then I saw the puppy birthmark on my ankle, and it appeared by the bedside.
I don’t know.
At the funeral, I sat in a wheelchair, put paper money in the firebath, and my back shivered because of fear.
At that time, if I were to be one second late, even if it was just one second late . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“The White Globe…”
That’s when my little, cold, soft screamed at me and broke my mind.
“Hmm? I’m sorry.
“Can I be adopted by your family?” she said, “When I grow up, I want to be your wife.” I’m sorry.
I’m freezing.
She had low eyes.
12
She’s low-eyed, burning paper money.
“When you didn’t wake up, the police told me that the man and my dad were colleagues in the bank, and they were all greedy together. She said:
“The bank soon discovered that the money was missing and began to investigate…”
“The man said he thought he could leave him alone as long as he let my dad disappear forever and created the illusion of my dad’s roll. That’s why you don’t use a knife.
She rubbed her eyes, “You know what? He thought I wasn’t home that night. I wasn’t at home. I’m sorry.
She laughed.
“Yes, my father sent me to my aunt’s, and maybe my father felt something. But my aunt didn’t like me and said I went to her house to eat white and called me a girl who broke her scent. I can’t stand it, running back. It’s just…
“Now she thinks it’s my dad who died. I’m sorry.
I just knew.
She’s the only family left.
The flames of the fire in the firebath sway in silence.
She reached out and touched my leg.
“And I will be your wife and take care of you. “She’s full of guilt.”
On the coffin, the Quarters fall.
Mr. White, sing a long tune.
I’m on a little arm, light and light.
I don’t know yet.
It was from that moment that I destroyed her future life.
13
Little ones were finally adopted by my parents.
For four years, I have witnessed life destroy her.
I owe a lot of money to treat me. She’s the only one who can take care of me when her parents are busy making money.
She dropped her books and became my close-nurse in her youth.
Laundry and cooking;
Care for my body;
People who come to the house and ask for debt are occasionally paid part-time contributions to their families …
She was like a flower, tired and dying.
It’s finally time for this fall of 2008.
I’m in a wheelchair and I’m downstairs in the sun.
A group of kids just left school, beating basketball, passing by from a distance.
I suddenly realize that we haven’t been in the past for a long time.
My finger, gently took two of her arms.
But her numbness is no longer felt.
She’s just looking at those free and happy kids, looking out.
“Little little … would you hate me? After a long silence, I asked her.
Time had smoothed all her thoughts, and she could no longer answer that question.
“What did I not do?” she asked me with concern.
Her answer has exposed me to my ugliest truth.
14
That morning her parents persuaded her to give up her studies for me.
They thought I was asleep.
But I’m awake.
I lay there in silence.
I know better than anyone that I should stop them.
I should have made her feel guilty, and I should have told her to be herself, rather than being someone’s permanent nanny out of gratitude.
I’m…
That morning, I just squeezed my cowardly fist.
If in 2004 I die there.
Probably, would be a hero.
15
In the fall of ’08, I was surrounded by a little panic.
I was in the wheelchair, somehow, full of tears and tears.
After that day, I had a disease. If you look in the mirror, you’ll be sick to vomit.
I hate myself in the mirror and drag everyone.
16
And in the light of the autumn sun, a little bit smote my back, and thereupon I heard a familiar melody.
“Go home and go back to the good things that were in the beginning.
I stopped.
It’s a kid, on his way home from school, humming this familiar song.
I’ll never forget that song.
“Hey, what are you singing? * I’ll call him, ask *
“What? I’m sorry.
“I asked you what you were singing! * And I yelled, * Answer me!
He was scared by my look, “Jeron, Jerry’s Rice fragrance…”
“When did this song come out? I’m sorry.
“Just last week, the new album…”
The children stood there helplessly.
I was in a wheelchair and I laughed.
“I see, I see…” I murmur.
I remember that summer night in ’04.
It’s from the computer.
I finally understood that moment.
As soon as I find that big brother, I’ll still have a chance to make a video call from ’04, contact myself, fix everything!
As long as I can find him!
17
I’ve tried everything since that day:
I posted his portrait on the Internet, and I posted a poster;
I made the room look like his room to prevent myself from forgetting any details;
But I didn’t think it would be so hard to find someone.
Day after day, year after year.
I’ve been lied to countless times, but I’ve never had a clue.
Who’s the big brother’s name?
I’m like a crazy dead wood. But no matter how unsatisfied I am, there is no progress.
Anything.
I don’t know.
That’s it, time to turn around and arrive at summer night in 2021.
August 6, 2021.
Xiao Xiao went to the convenience store to work the night shift, and my parents wanted to come and take care of me in our rented house.
More often, I just want to be alone.
I was sitting in a wheelchair, sitting in a room, in front of that old computer, smoking a cigarette after a cigarette. The ashtray was filled with cigarettes, and the web page was painted with no God, searching for clues of little hope.
On the phone, there’s a random song. At the end of the song, a familiar song sounded.
“If you have too many complaints about the world, you won’t be able to move on…”
I stopped there.
August 6, 2021.
Night, zero.
“Go home and return to the beauty of the beginning…”
My whole body is starting to tremble.
Look at the computer, it’s stuck in there.
The next second, the dead machine’s computer, the sound of video calls, echoes this quiet night.
That video call, in my eyes, was automatically connected.
A young boy’s face appeared at the end of the video.
And in the video, I had long hair, a beard and a bad face.
Sitting in the room I’ve seen.
At that moment, even the heart beats of the gruesome impulses were suppressed.
I finally saw the big brother I wanted to find.
18
Me and myself in ’04 were so silent for a long time.
Until.
I asked him.
The one on the other side of the video, the one in 2004, I was so restless and moved the mouse. Seeing he couldn’t turn off the video, he fell down.
I know. He’s gonna pull the power.
Wait! You have a puppy-shaped birthmark on your ankle, and! When you look at Digital Baby, you close the living room door, and you look in secret.
He’s freezing. Get up. “Who the fuck are you? I’m sorry.
I had a strange feeling in my heart.
Everything seems to be happening again.
No… it’s different!
I also have a chance to change everything in the future.
Including, in a little life!
“Back, I know you. You’d be even more angry if I told you. We can’t talk. So I can only tell you first that we know each other well and that I’m not a bad person. I’m sorry.
I picked up the phone, took a look, it’s 00:02.
My little dad, he’s been strangled.
Cut him off rough enough to go next door. We’re up to two minutes!
It’s too late to survive!
I turned on the timer software on the phone.
19
He looked at me blindly.
“Chou Jerry’s song?” he asked.
“New song, “The Rice fragrance.” I have a cell phone. I said it quickly.
“How is that possible? How do you call without a keyboard? I’m sorry.
“Blank. I looked at him carefully, “Well, time is limited, and I’m going to focus on it. I’m sorry.
“I know you like small. But tonight, there will be a murder. I’m sorry.
“at her house, right now. I’m sorry.
50 seconds!
“If you’re going to save her, don’t take a knife. You’re not strong enough. The fruit knife is on the living room table. I’m sorry.
40 seconds!
“You’ll hide under the bed, you’ll hear the bad guys leave the living room. But it’s a fake. He’s hiding outside the door. He’s trying to get you out. I’m sorry.
30 seconds!
“On your right, just stab him with a knife! I’m sorry.
25 seconds!
“No…no! I think of something, the speed of speech has accelerated again, almost roaring, “We shouldn’t want to deal with him!” I’m sorry.
Fifteen seconds!
“Enter the living room of the little house, and immediately throw everything you find, anything, into the shed downstairs! The more the better! The better! Then you’ll lead him here! It’s safe to be so small that she can call for help! And I will help you!”
Three seconds!
There’s no time! I’m sorry.
On the other side of the video, he was deterred by my roar and ran away.
18
His figure disappeared in the video.
I picked up my phone and I entered the keyword, “04, Qinghu County, Riverside Road, Murder.”
A story was lit.
That’s the news of the murder.
What happened the other night, the words on the news are all there is.
“The murderer, Machin, infiltrated the crime…”
“The boy next door entered the living room and was about to be killed with the girl…”
“The boy fell down the building and alerted the neighbors. The killer fled and the girl was saved…”
“The killer has nowhere to hide and finally surrender…”
My hands are shaking and now I can do nothing but pray.
20
Boom! It’s a big bang.
I know, that’s the sound of heavy matter being thrown into a rain shed.
Another bang!
At the end of the video, the door of the room was facing my living room.
I saw a lot of light out of the living room window.
The neighbors woke up passively!
How are things with her?
I’m almost there. Listen carefully.
Frightened footsteps, broke into the house.
I saw the other side of the video, “I” came up, and he came to the room in a panic. The next second, however, a big figure came after him and pressed him to the ground.
The man bowed his head and choked my neck, but he stunned.
“Boy”?
Meanwhile.
“Help–” came from next door in a little shout.
That’s her in ’04, shouting as hard as she can.
“There’s a bad man, help me.”
Men look up with surprise.
“Look at me!” I yelled.
His sight finally fell on the screen.
Seventeen years later.
We, finally, meet again.
21
“I’m the only one who knows the future. I said, “It’s the only one who can save you.” I’m sorry.
He’s a little lost in the color of his god.
Not enough…not enough. I won’t give him the chance to turn himself in. I must drag him to death here.
“Listen, tonight, it’s your first murder. You forgot to close the door because you were nervous; when you heard his daughter went to his relatives’ house, you thought that there was only one person in the house and that you had too much to lose, and you would eventually get caught. I said:
“What should I do? He was restless and he asked me.
On the other side of the video, there was some new movement.
It’s weak, but I heard it.
It’s the neighbors going upstairs.
He fell for it.
He can’t run anymore.
“Now, run away. I laughed, “Trust me, you’re going out. I’m sorry.
22
The last thing I saw was that the man had no hesitation and he left me in ’04 and got up and ran out.
The noise, the sound on the other side of the video, became very noisy, and there were shouts and fights.
But in the end, the sound slowly subsided.
The sound of sirens coming from afar is getting closer. Until, downstairs.
I was staring at the video.
“I” in the video, coughing up.
On the neck, there were strangulations, but not heavy.
I’m completely relieved.
And he was breathing against the wall.
“How’s it going?”
“It’s all right.” He coughed, “I heard uncles holding him down, and the police.
“Go to the adults and let them take you to the hospital. And I’m done, and I’m gone.
What should I tell him at such a time?
I’ve been thinking for a long time, and I finally have the answer.
“Blub, hard for you, in your capacity and in a novel.” I’m sorry.
“What? I’m sorry.
“You must tell her that you owe no one but yourself. I’m sorry.
“You have to keep saying, even if she gets bored, until you forget everything about tonight. I said:
“Big Brother, may I ask you a question…” he said.
Once again, there was a noise outside, which was the sound of the man being taken downstairs by the police.
He looked at me, “You’re in the future, right?”
I was just about to answer.
The next second, the dead machine’s computer, it’s back on.
The video window, completely disappeared.
Only previously painted web pages, with animated page advertisements in the corner.
23
I stopped there.
Everything that’s happened is as unreal as a dream.
# Boom #
Summer fireworks sound.
I’m down, it’s my phone.
My phone, the whole place is “open.”
It’s like an invisible hand taking my phone off the machine. From screens to parts, all separated, floating in the air.
It’s another summer fireworks.
Next, the bed.
Bed legs, mattresses, a skeleton, decomposition to the smallest unit, floating in the air.
# Boom #
# Boom #
# Boom #
I finally understand that my entire space has been broken apart by unknown forces.
And the earth and the walls are separated, and the walls are divided, as in a vacuum, and everything is floating with me.
I saw every part of it that had been removed was changing at a fast pace. From material, to sample, to shape structure.
Swift change.
Finally, all the changes stopped.
The next minute, it looked like the dismantling process was reversed.
Each of the smallest units will be brought together according to their respective endpoints. It’s wrinkled, the walls are sewn, the phone is restored…
I fell on the ground.
24
I held my body up, right away, I realized.
My lower arm, it works.
I shook my body.
For the first time in 17 years, stand up.
I can hardly believe what I see.
Deliberate house, clean floor.
A photo of four people on the wall.
Me, Mom and Dad, and, little.
I finally understood why the video would end in that moment.
It’s settled. It’s settled.
It’s just that this is what it looks like.
In your pocket, it’s vibrating.
I picked up the phone. That was a little call.
Her voice was loud and clear at the end of the phone.
“I’ll send my parents back tomorrow, and the doctor’s seen it. It’s just a stomach condition. It’s no big deal. She said:
“…”
“The market house price has risen again, and I think you’d better think about buying one on the market. Mom and Dad are old, they’re sick, and if they’re in some kind of condition, the city hospital is better than the county. She said:
“…”
“Don’t talk, I’m your sister. I said you have to listen. She was upset.
I laughed.
It’s weird, it’s not right. But at this point, I really wanted to confirm something.
My finger, on my phone’s wheat, struck twice.
The phone was silent for a while, responding to me, with her two soft fingers.
25
“So you’ve got a bubble in your head, you don’t talk for half a day. I’m sorry.
“I’ve just come back from the past, but it’s complicated and slow. I’m sorry.
“What and what?”
I don’t know.
That phone didn’t last long.
She seems to have settled in the city and had to stay up late for a PPT.
I have too much to confirm.
I pushed the window, the street view along the road, which is still a clean-flowing county. And this is the old building I’ve lived in since I was a kid, and it’s just redecorated.
’04, Qinghu County, Riverside Road.
I turned on the phone and typed the keyword search.
A story was lit, and I finally knew where that night ended up.
26
That night of ’04, I pushed the little house. No one knows why, and the first thing I did when I went in there was to grab the tea tray from the tea table and smash it in the rain.
The man, he heard something, came out of the bathroom.
At almost the same time, I turned and ran home.
The man ran out and eventually, in my house, held me down.
“Boy?” The man swooped.
Neighbors’ lights are already on.
Yu Xiao heard something, and she climbed out of the bed and ran to the window of the living room.
In 2004, I was pressed to the ground, struggling hard.
And small, hollering with all their energy.
After that, there’s not much to record.
All I can do is find a piece of my speech in my little chat with my parents and make a general guess:
That night, the man was arrested and sentenced to death.
Little, adopted by my parents.
Probably not so selfish as long as they are not forced to die.
They came out of the shadows, went to school and went to college, just like their own daughter. Later, she went to an outsider in the city and bought a small house in the city before the house price went too high.
A part which belongs not to anyone but her own life.
The picture on the wall, on the tiny neck, is no longer slit.
She hasn’t had nightmares for years.
And my diarrhea has disappeared.
Everything is settled.
27
“Don’t play with your stupid computer. “I’m sorry.
A fucking computer?
I looked over the chat, and I realized that after the ’04s, with my insistence, the old computer was kept. Even as I moved, bought a house, I brought this computer.
In the study.
28
The window in the study was open and there was a late wind and it was cool.
The big head monitor, the white mainframe, is on a computer table by the window.
The monitor on that computer is still on.
I reached out to close the window and noticed that on the computer, there was a story.
“04 The perpetrator of the murder was released from prison. I’m sorry.
“On the Internet, opinion has been expressed that Mahoney’s sister was married to a senior official in ’07…”
“Significant success, many reductions in sentence, and public opinion suspecting that it is working…”
“Such statements have not been effectively confirmed and the fermentation is still under way…”
I stopped.
“In previous interviews, Ma has mentioned time repeatedly that time is reversible … According to Ma, he believes that anyone has the opportunity to change what happened in the past…”
“… may mean that they are willing to use their actions to atone for past mistakes…”
My eyes fell on that line.
“Time is reversible. I’m sorry.
29
Heartbreaking, flashing through a tumour.
Time is reversible. In other people’s voices, maybe just crazy talk.
But I witnessed it.
“Madai was released from prison on 1 August 2021…”
I wrinkled and looked at the electronic clock on the table.
August 6, 2021.
Ten minutes to zero.
This night again.
I finally understand where the deep-seated anxiety comes from.
That summer night in 2004, that man, in my house, he saw the future.
30
But how can he say…
I hold my head, I flash it in my head, everything that happened in the past.
The first summer night, in 2021, I sat down at the computer table:
“I can tell you about your future, after that murder, you’ve changed completely. You’re tired of studying, you’re always fighting, you’re in the middle, you gamble, you borrow, you’re in debt. I’m sorry.
The second summer night, in 2021, I screamed, “Enter the living room of the little house, and immediately throw everything you find, anything, into the shed downstairs! The more the better! The better! Then you’ll lead him here! It’s safe to be small! And I’ll help you!”
In the brief, the man’s entire plan:
“The murderer, Mr. Ma, believes that if he disappears, he will create the illusion that the other will run. I’ll be able to put this shit on my partner’s head.”
I opened my eyes.
Basically, I’m the same as that man.
All gamblers!
A shadow behind me. I was surprised to return, but it was too late.
The head was grabbed by a big, scary hand and slammed on the table.
I swayed and I fell down.
31
My head was caught, and I hit it hard on the ground.
There was buzzing in the ears and a blurry sense.
He took my head and looked me in the face.
He’s old and shaved.
The evil in their eyes has never changed.
“I knew it, you were the one I saw in ’04. He smiled with excitement.
How did he get in here?
I reached out and tried to get rid of him, but the next second, the head hit again.
“I met a lot of good masters inside, you know,” he said, “Put oil on the lock, the lock doesn’t sound. I’m sorry.
“It’s time for you to answer me. “How did he do it?” I’m sorry.
I looked at the clock with hard eyes.
Zero, just a minute.
If he’s the one who got the video, it’s over!
32
“I can’t tell you…”
Drilling pain.
It’s his shoes, stomping on my fingertips, crushing on the ground.
I said! I said! I screamed, “Put that camera on the computer! I’m sorry.
Camera?
I tried to act like I couldn’t bear the pain.
The only thing I can do now is destroy the computer.
But I need a chance!
“You met me at my house in ’04, remember? The old off-site camera. It’s not the computer. It’s the computer! I shouted, “It’s in my room, hidden in the bottom drawer of the closet, and there’s a trap! I’m sorry.
He’ll look me in doubt.
30 seconds.
“If you don’t believe me, take me with you if you promise to leave me alone. I said, “If I die, you’ll never get through that video. I’m sorry.
I saw him groping in his pocket and taking out a knife.
Cold blades cut my neck, bleeding.
He put a knife around my neck and I slowly stood up.
Fifteen seconds!
I slowly stood up and looked for balance.
My pupils shrink because of stress.
Both feet finally stepped on the solid ground.
Now!
Ten seconds!
I slammed into him with all my might!
The blood splattered into the air, and I knew it was a blade cut through my neck. It doesn’t matter, however, that he lost his balance and took a few steps back.
I used my last strength to growl and hold the host in the direction of the window.
He came back like a wind. He jumped.
Five seconds!
He’s too late.
Take off your hand and throw it out the window. A string of bangs. The monitor was then dragged to the window.
I was pushed away with his big hand holding the monitor, but I heard the sound of a machine falling down downstairs.
That’s the mainframe that broke the connection and fell completely downstairs.
I was covered in my neck in a messy study because I lost my blood and I was pale.
0 seconds.
Death-like silence.
I laughed.
33
However, I opened my eyes to fear.
The black screen computer, the sound of video calls, echoes this dead night.
In our eyes, the black screen computer has restored the strange light.
That video call was flashing, and eventually, it was automatically connected.
A young boy’s face appeared at the end of the video.
2004 for me.
34
In the study, the man laughed.
“Time is reversible. I’m sorry.
35
I couldn’t do it like a sack. I was dragged to a computer table, covered in blood.
The head of the video, ’04 for me, scared by this scene. He fell down in fear and was going to pull the power, but was stopped by men.
“You want to kill this man? I’m sorry.
I saw myself in ’04, slowly getting up, with fear and ignorance all over my face.
The knife slashed my face and saw fresh blood.
And then the knife pointed at my throat.
“I’ll kill this man if I don’t do what I say next. He said, “Be a good boy, don’t hurt people. I’m sorry.
“We don’t bother you. It’s simple. I’m sorry.
“Go next door, turn on the light in the living room, and someone will come out of the bathroom. You don’t care what he’s trying to do to you, you tell him three words, the sooner the better. I’m sorry.
No, no, no.
I look at myself in despair, and I want to speak, but his mouth is squeezed with death, and he can only speak vaguely.
“Magin, your modus operandi tonight is all a loophole. He says:
“In the future, you will be caught. I’m sorry.
“If you don’t want to die, look under the bed in the bedroom and come with me next door. I’m sorry.
Don’t… little…
I’ve got a knife in my neck, and I’ve got some more.
I stood up on the other side of the video and ran away.
36
Summer Night 2004.
2021, Summer Night.
Every second, it’s so quiet.
I heard a little scream, but it disappeared.
I was desperate to close my eyes.
Then there was a heavy footsteps coming from over the screen.
37
My eyes were forcibly removed.
In 2004, he was young, unconscious and thrown on the floor in front of the screen.
I saw me in 2004, with a fruit knife strangling my throat and not making any noise.
I can’t believe we ended up in the same situation 17 years later.
The man in front of the screen is incredibly asking.
He seems to have guesses, just can’t believe it.
The men around me laughed.
“I’m the only one who knows the future. He said, “It’s the only one who can save you.” I’m sorry.
“Magina, listen to me!” he said, “I know you’re the first to kill, and tonight you have too much to do. You let a dead kid in because you were nervous and forgot to close the door; you heard that his daughter went to a relative’s house and thought that there was only one person in the family who moved the body, and even left the room to examine…”
“You’re too full of cracks, you don’t think at all, you’ll get caught in the end. I’m sorry.
“Now only I can save you. I’m sorry.
“What year was that on your side? This is what the Madhumins in 2004 asked.
He’s got an answer.
“2021, 17 years of prison meal… the best time of my life is trapped in a cell. He said, “It’s likely that one day they’ll be sent back again, and I’ll be back…”
“So what do I do?”
I’m around Ma Jin-min, laughing.
“Remember that and don’t think about how it won’t be discovered. I’ve seen countless people in there, and I’ve done everything perfectly, and it’s never gonna happen. I’m sorry.
“I’ll give you some numbers, and you’ll need them to go where I told you before it happened. That’s gonna be a big deal. Next, Burma, Vietnam, enough to make you a tsar. These things, you have three days to finish. I’m sorry.
“older than to run, he put two barrels of gasoline in his house’s locker. I’ve counted, from fire suppression, to autopsy, to case creation, to locking you in, like, five days. Enough. I’m sorry.
I laughed.
I already know what they’re gonna do.
“Tonight, neither of these children will live. I’m sorry.
In the video, in the camera, I shivering in the eye.
38
On the other side of the video, I wanted to scream for help in ’04, but I was strangled right away.
I saw him struggling, even kicking out the knife. However, this angered the other, with both hands strangling his neck, his arms swollen, the young boy’s face, his fear of deformation, and his mouth’s horns bleeding.
I’ve been thinking to the best of my ability, and I’ve imagined everything in my head.
But, but…
I don’t have any way.
39
“Take it easy. Next is your little girl. I’m sorry.
He shot me on the shoulder. That’s what he tortured me for. I want to see it happen.
My eyes were covered in blood, and I struggled like crazy, and finally, my feet were on the table. With all the strength, the whole person fell on the floor with the chair.
He crouched down and tried to pick up my admiral.
I went crazy, hugged his head, my teeth tore his ear.
He screamed.
We struggled on the ground. We were dead. His feet are raging, and I’m almost torn apart.
A loud sound, he’s stomping on his feet, kicking over the computer table. The monitor fell so hard on the ground, it flew a few pieces out of a broken image that even ’04 he was attracted to our fight.
Let the girl go! “I bit half his ear and yelled at the screen, “I bit him!” I’m gonna bite him to death! I’m sorry.
However, in response to me, it is the pain of the lower abdomen.
The knife, it got deep in my stomach.
I can feel the heart beating hard because of the struggle, in a little cold.
But in that moment, I saw it.
40
Summer Night 2004.
04 for me, strangled by the arm, no breath.
Men stare at the screen.
Behind them, a little girl swayed up.
She looked at the dead boy, in the eyes of despair, and finally came to an end.
That’s the last force of my life.
Absolutely, don’t let them find small.
And the little ones picked up the fruit knife from the ground, and waved it hard.
My hands were finally broken.
In both time, men turn their heads with surprise!
A knife in a small hand and a man’s throat!
41
2021, Summer Night.
I fell on the ground and waited for death with no power.
Men hold broken screens and curse the smaller. He turned into a cry for help and begged for an ambulance for him.
Summer Night 2004.
The boy’s body fell on the floor.
Men were covered in gas pipes and were suffocated on the ground.
“You’re called Little, right? “In 2021, you can use this computer to call yourself in ’04, so you can save the little boy and your father! You want to save them, right? So you have to let me live. Call an ambulance! Only I can make this computer work! It’s just junk in your hand! Let me live, you gotta let me live!”
So far, he’s still working on everything.
The screen is small, shaking with its arms.
Her eyes, eventually through men, fell on me.
I want to tell her not to believe any word;
I want to tell her. If I die in 2004, I’ll be a hero;
I want to tell her…
But I can’t make any noise.
“Doggy birthmark…”
The sound went through 17 years, through the screen, and finally arrived in my ear.
She looked at my ankle.
My eyes can see less and less.
Men are still screaming, “There’s no time! Only if I live can you save them! I’m sorry.
“Is that true?” Little sound.
I lift my weak fingers.
Lightly, three times.
“Fake…” She murmurs.
“I’m not lying to you! I told you to call an ambulance! I’m sorry.
“Well, where’s the computer?” she asked.
“I will kill you! I’ll kill you! Do as I say! The men are screaming.
Unfortunately, he would never understand the communication between me and Little.
Fingerless, lightly, twice.
Broken screen, the picture is gone.
But I heard, from 2004, her last sentence.
“Bitch, wait 17 years. I’m sorry.
End
Record number: YX11b4wM5Dy
I don’t know.
Keep your eyes on the road.
